Even as the colorful 1980s continues to experience some sort of rewind with movies like Transformers and fashion trends like stockings and shoulder pads—kidding about the last one—we’ve been saying goodbye to too many of our childhood icons already.
The first shock of this year was David Carradine’s June 3 death in a Bangkok hotel room. For those who are old enough to remember, he was Kwai Chang Caine in the old television series Kung Fu, the orphaned child of an American man and a Chinese woman who was raised by monks in a Shaolin monastery. After avenging the death of his master by killing the nephew of the Chinese emperor, he flees to the western America to seek his half-brother. On the way, he faces situations that force him to use his kung fu skills. The younger generation would recognize him as Bill in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies.
Carradine’s death is still a mystery. A maid supposedly found his body in a closet; it was tied up with rope in a manner which suggested erotic asphyxiation. Of course, those gave rise to a lot of talk about the way he died. Online forums were filled with both funny and heartfelt tributes to people who really admired this “chill” guy. Some comments I found on Reddit.com: “He was the epitome of relaxed. I suppose this explains what he did to attain that relaxed state; I previously assumed it was meditation. Good night sweet, autoerotic prince!” and “Sad, really. I’d rather hear the guy died getting off than apparent suicide. At least then we know he came and went.”
The second death was not as much of a surprise, but no less sad: After a nearly three-year struggle with anal cancer, Farrah Fawcett finally became, as fans say, a real angel. She put up a brave font and documented her struggle to beat the disease through experimental treatments in Germany in the documentary Farrah’s Story. In the film, she can be seen shaving off her famous, lovely golden locks. What’s even sadder is that shortly before she died, she had agreed to marry long-time love Ryan O’Neal after more than 30 years of being together.
The third death shocked the whole world, as it came just hours after Farrah’s: Michael Jackson succumbed to a heart attack. As of writing, his family is asking for a second autopsy, but so far, everything points to natural causes. The King of Pop, after all, is 50 and he’d had a rather difficult life, facing child molestation raps (for which he was acquitted) and bankruptcy and the whole world’s judgment. He was getting ready for a big comeback, supposedly with Charice Pempengco as a guest.
I was surprised at my emotional reaction to his death. I’d forgotten how much of a fan I was. Then again, it wasn’t easy to forget—it was just a matter of looking at his face change throughout the years to write him off as crazy. But, like many of the people who admired him before his decline, I went on a nostalgia tripped and looked for his old music videos online. I’m still as in love with “Will You Be There” as I was when I first watched Free Willy. Watching his old concert videos anchored the fact that nobody could ever take his place as King of Pop.
With that in mind, I’d like to share an undying thread that first started on Facebook and grew even bigger on my Plurk:
A: Patay na kasi kaya thriller na.
B: Mamayang gabi makikita mo siya, man in the mirror.
C: Ay naku, dangerous yan...
B: Huwag siyang bad!
D: ‘Pag nakita mo siya, you are not alone!!!
E: Huy patay na yung tao, beat it.
B: Oo nga, remember the time na lang nung nabubuhay pa si Michael Jackson.
F: If I find the people behind this series of jokes, there will be blood on the dancefloor.
E: Ooh, smooth criminal.
G: OMG! So much hate. Heal the world!
H: Are you kidding? We are the world!
F: You think we are the world, but we’re not! We could be strangers in Moscow!
You can’t get any pop-er than that!